STILL cant set float height correctly. Something else is amis.

[jonathanhly]

I'm sure everyone here has seen at least one of my hopeless appeals to any and all float height information. Well I finally gathered enough information to determine that something isn't quite right, other than my unsettable floats.

I have a 2001 gs. 4500 miles. Never seen a shop.
I adjusted valve shims and cleaned the carbs, then attempted to start it and found it running horribly. Found the float height to be fay high. 1/4'' above the gasket surface using the U-bend method. So I tried setting it to manual height. The float height was already set over the manual spec. So I said screw it and kept adjusting the floats higher and higher. Which did improve the idle. First she was spurting and poping and bogging under throttle and causing choke problems. Once I removed the air box she sounded much much better! (more air!). I kept increasing the float height trying to reach the gasket surface. Then I reached a spot where throttle was responsive. I increased one more time to find the throttle no longer responsive and some back fire through the carbs (lean?). I then plugged the carb to petcock vent line which until now had been open (which helped when the bike was rich), but now was causing a too lean situation when it was open. plugging it improved performance. I then tried to increase height one more time because I was just a mm or so above. Now the carbs overflow, like the bend is so bent it cant even close the valve. However at this time I found the fuel level to appear to be about where it started, before everything! So I think that before and after this whole thing, I was flooding the bowls for some reason.

So with that being said I am going to pretty much clean the entire carb.

With that I have a few questions. How do I remove the needle from the slider diaphragm? It seems to feel like it is almost winding when I turn it from the top of the slider. Is this another setting?

How do I remove the valve needle seat (the brass piece) that the needle valve seats in. It is quite snug and I cant pull it out by hand. The lip that projects from the surface appears to be quite shorter on my carbs than any pictures I have seen.

And finally, based on what I've told you, what is important for me to pay extra close attention to? What could be causing the float height being incontrollable rich?
Thanks so much, I am dieing to get out riding!

[Paulcet]

One thing for you to check is the o-ring that is around the outside of the float needle seat.  If it is flat or cracked, it will bypass fuel into the float bowl, regardless of your float setting.  I don't know how to remove the seat on the newer carbs, but there may be a screw holding it in.  You just pull it out on the older carbs.

[BikerMedic]

One thing for you to check is the o-ring that is around the outside of the float needle seat.  If it is flat or cracked, it will bypass fuel into the float bowl, regardless of your float setting.  I don't know how to remove the seat on the newer carbs, but there may be a screw holding it in.  You just pull it out on the older carbs.

I can't find that o ring on bike bandit, and I'm having similar problems as the OP. Could someone tell me what size o ring that is or where to purchase one?

[Snake2715]

Start a new thread. Also what year of bike is important. It's in the diagram. Rockymountainatv.com is another good source.